4:06 p.m.: I’m gonna compose myself and talk stats for a minute: Shots on goal: Spain 18, Netherlands 13. Fouls committed: Netherlands 28(!), Spain 19. Corners: Spain 8, Netherlands 6. FIFA Man of the Match: Andres Iniesta, who has been anonymous this whole tournament until a few minutes ago, proving that anyone can be a hero in The Big Moment.
I’m gonna be real with you for a moment: I have waited 16 years for this moment. If you had asked me when I first watched the World Cup in 1994 if this could have ever possibly happened, I would have laughed and said no. A dream is realized today. For The Netherlands, meanwhile, the dream must wait for another year. It’s a cruel finish for them, but they have the talent to be back. I hope for their sake that they make it; The Videogame deserves its chance, too.
I have shots waiting for me to celebrate, so I’m signing off. Thanks for reading, and whether you rooted for the winner or loser, celebrate. It’s a beautiful day for soccer fans regardless. I’ll see you in 47 months for the next one.
4:03 p.m.: That’s it. Time called. Spain wins 1-0. The chants begin in the back of the room. “O-LE, ole, ole, oleeeee! O-leeeeee, oleeeeee!”
4:02 p.m.: Throw-ins by the Dutch getting cleared. Tick tock.
4 p.m.: Two minutes added time. The wind seems out of Holland’s sails.
3:59 p.m.: The texts are flooding into my phone. Just over a minute to go. Can the Dutch bounce back?
3:56 p.m.: INIESTA! GOAL, SPAIN! In the 107th minute. Yellow card not a minute later for Mathijsen. Iniesta? Really?!
3:54 p.m.: The ref calls another foul and Fabregas argues. No card, though. It’s amazing to me how much the players are willing to go toe-to-toe with the ref in this game. He’s handled it well, at least. If it were me I would send every one of them off for invading space. Holland’s set piece goes wide left as I type.
3:52 p.m.: The “Ne-ther-LANDS!” chants begin inside Farmers. I’m on my fifth beer. This is about to get interesting.
3:50 p.m.: Xavi takes his shot off the set piece straight at the net and sends it about two feet over the crossbar. Not even a minute later, Gregory Van Der Wiel gets another yellow for Holland. It’s as if they’re trying to self-destruct.
3:49 p.m.: Heitinga sent off after his second yellow card! Netherlands a man down the rest of the game. Bad time to foul Iniesta on a move into the box. Set piece coming.
3:45 p.m.: Torres is in for Villa for the second OT. Clearly Del Bosque read my LeBron reference and got the message.
3:43 p.m.: The first overtime ends and there’s still no score. No sign of Fernando Torres for the Spanish, either. What are you waiting for, Del Bosque? LeBron’s “decision” didn’t take this long, despite ESPN’s best efforts.
3:41 p.m.: More Dutch substitutionage: Von Bronckhorst out, someone else in. I missed the name, but five bucks says it’s unpronounceable on the first try.
3:37 p.m.: Jesus Navas has his shot deflected off the thigh of a Dutch defender and goes wide of net for a corner. The corner bounces harmlessly out of bounds. Does anyone wanna score? Anyone? Bueller?
3:35 p.m.: Iniesta’s drive into the box is cleared out by the Dutch. Sub time! Rafael Van Der Vaart in for De Jong, I believe.
3:33 p.m.: No one at Farmers is happy with how tightly the ref is calling this game. I walked into a men’s restroom after regulation where everyone was badmouthing it. There’s more at my table now, too. Swallow the whistle, blue. If only for a minute.
3:31 p.m.: The last two Spanish efforts result in nothing. Almost five minutes into extra time. Another one by by Fabregas stopped by Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Subsequent Dutch attack stopped, as well as the corner that comes after it. My head is spinning, and it’s not from the beer. Both sides are working hard now.
3:27 p.m.: Overtime begins and KSPR tries a picture-in-picture for the weather update. The bigger picture was the radar. I look out the window and the sun is shining. Cut the crap, people. Save it for later.
3:21 p.m.: Wesley Sneijder sends the ball in from about 50 yards out… to no one. Utterly pointless. We’re at the end of regulation.
3:19 p.m.: We’re one minute into a three-minute stoppage time and Fernando Torres looks to be coming in for Spain. Time to force the issue.
3:18 p.m.: The Dutch came within a hair’s breadth of scoring. Offside looked to be called as they got the shot off. It bounced off the upright anyway. Too bad; Casillas had no chance at it.
3:14 p.m.: Cesc Fabregas is in for Xabi Alonso. This could start the Spanish push.
3:11 p.m.: Robben had a serious charge going and was stopped by Casillas again. He follows that by collecting a yellow card on a tackle not even a minute later. Epic bad move by one of The Netherlands’ best players. Composure is key here.
3:08 p.m.: Iniesta falls down trying to penetrate the Dutch box for a shot on goal. Clean stop by Holland. I am in shock that Del Bosque hasn’t put at least Torres in so far. There are less than 10 minutes left in regulation. They need to maximize his effectiveness and he’s watching the game same as you and I right now.
3:07 p.m.: We’re in the 79th minute and we continue to see more chipping and sniping by both sides with weak, overwrought fouling. Meanwhile, KSPR seems to have learned its lesson and stayed away. Thanks guys. The ever-present storm graphic in lower left looks great, by the way.
3:02 p.m.: David Villa misses off the set piece wide right of the net. I’ve discovered Spain’s issue: For a team known as La Roja–”The Red”–they’re wearing their blue alternate jerseys. It’s a mojo deficit. Simple as that, right? Okay, maybe not.
3 p.m.: The rest of my table is as convinced as I am that this is going to overtime. Spanish winger Andres Iniesta clutches his back after a very questionable tackle. It’s a foul called, but I disagree.
2:57 p.m.: Near miss! Villa’s rebound off a send-in from right wing goes high over the net, possibly deflected by a Dutch defender laying on the ground. I just shaved a few months off my life with that one. Meanwhile, substition by the Dutch: Dirk Kuyt out, Eljero Elia in. A forward-for-forward swap.
2:53 p.m.: We’re just past the 66-minute mark and I’m becoming convinced we’re going to decide this game in overtime, if not in penalty kicks. Neither side is going down without a fight. Speaking of which, there’s another foul and yellow card, a trip by Joan Capdevilla. A Dutch fan just strung together a series of curse words at me to describe it. Consider it R-rated play-by-play.
2:50 p.m.: Casillas deflects an Arjen Robben gimme just left of net. Amazing play.
UFC fighter Clay Guida: Really Spanish defender Carles Puyol? Smart money is on no, but who knows?
2:48 p.m.: The room at Farmers is so full there are people sitting on the floor. Everyone is watching in rapt attention. The slow-mo of Carles Puyol reminds me of Sean’s suggestion that he and UFC fighter Clay Guida are actually the same guy. He may have a point. Have they ever been seen in the same place at the same time?
2:46 p.m.: Iniesta comes down hard on Sneijder’s knee, meaning a free kick for the Dutch. Heitinga narrowly misses with a header sent in. Fifty-eight minutes in; how long before the subs start happening?
2:44 p.m.: Villa goes down after a tough tackle from Dutch defender John Heitinga. Another card. The yellows are mounting for Holland. Sean: “Are we in free throws yet?”
2:42 p.m.: Yellow card on Van Bronckhorst sets up a free kick for Spain. Xavi will take it. Lofts clear of the net, high right.
2:39 p.m.: ANOTHER KSPR interruption. The room is livid. Dear TV people, let me be clear: You have a graphic in the bottom left of the screen already. We know a storm is coming. Get the bloody hell off the television and let the most important soccer game in recent history happen.
2:37 p.m.: Ground-level crosser by the Dutch rolls across the front of Spain’s goal, and Casillas lets it roll out of bounds. The Dutch in particular are starting to look like their usual selves, but both sides are still roughhousing a lot.
2:35 p.m.: I’m just gonna say it: KSPR just pissed off every single person in this building with its weather update interruption. Epic fail of massive proportions. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a drink thrown at the screen yet. Apparently we missed a Puyol header that didn’t score. Go away, KSPR.
2:32 p.m.: The second half gets rolling with The Netherlands moving upfield quickly. A bad through ball shuts them down. They may be opening up a bit, though.
2:29 p.m.: We’re scoreless at halftime. Both sides need to sort themselves out on the offensive end of the field and cut down the fouling spree. With that said, how ’bout a little entertainment? I thought about breaking out Shakira‘s “Waka Waka” again, since it’s the official World Cup 2010 theme song. Instead, though, let’s kick it old school with the best WC theme song ever, Ricky Martin‘s “The Cup of Life,” from France ’98:
No, I’m not being a homer. He’s totally from Mexico.
2:15 p.m.: The forty-fourth minute arrives and we have seen great defensive play from both sides. Spain’s play from the wings on offense has been terrible and the Dutch midfield hasn’t been able to feed the ball forward well. Two minutes of extra time. Shot by Robben deflected out by Casillas.
2:13 p.m.: Sneijder and Sergio Busquets slam into each other in the Dutch end. Busquets might not be able to have kids after that one. I’ll leave it at that.
2:09 p.m.: From my buddy Sean, who’s here watching the game with me: “It’s time to bring Torres in.” I agree. He’s been injured this whole tournament, so coach Vicente Del Bosque is limiting his minutes, but they need his speed and dynamic play to challenge the Dutch defense and stretch the field.
2:07 p.m.: Thirty-six minutes in. The ball has been mostly in Spanish territory in the last few minutes. A corner kick, set up as a low pass, is an easy pass to Dutch defender Joris Mathijsen that he absolutely wiffs on. Not a gimme goal, but opportunities like that don’t come all the time.
2:03 p.m.: Nearly catastrophic misplay by the Spanish. Puyol runs at a ball Casillas, the goalkeeper, leaps for, effectively headbutting Casillas in his man-bits. He crashes to the ground headfirst… and hangs on to the ball. Casillas could go over the middle in the NFL with focus like that.
2 p.m.: Thirty minutes in and we have seen more yellow cards than shots on goal. Neither side is into its usual routine. Spain, in particular, might be regretting the decision to sit Torres and Fabregas right now. You’ll see them sometime in the second half for sure, though.
1:59 p.m.: Another yellow card! Nigel De Jong puts a cleat straight to Xabi Alonso‘s chest. Are you ****ing kidding me?!?!? Alonso has to leave the field. This game could descend into ugliness if the two teams aren’t careful.
1:54 p.m.: Follow that with a yellow card for Sergio Ramos. The refs are not allowing anything to slide, which results in a lot of stoppage and no rhythm for either team. How long before someone doubles up and gets sent off at this rate?
1:52 p.m.: Robben’s charge at the goal is thwarted by Xabi Alonso, though it results in a foul. Ensuing set piece is headed away harmlessly. Another foul by the Dutch follows, and Mark Van Bommel gets a yellow card, which doesn’t emerge except after lengthy arguing by the player. The Dutch chippiness could be its own undoing.
1:49 p.m.: Spain’s vaunted ball control has not impressed thus far. Not surprising, since many of the Dutch players are veterans of Spanish league soccer and A.) play a similar style, and B.) know how to play against it. They have not, however, unleashed The Videogame… yet.
1:47 p.m.: As I type that, Carles Puyol takes down Arjen Robben. Retaliation? This early? Is Ron Artest on the pitch?
1:45 p.m.: I can smell fish and chips wafting in over my right shoulder. Meanwhile, Van Persie gets a yellow card for a tackle on Spanish defender Joan Capdevilla. That’s the second significant foul of the half for the Dutch, and its first yellow card.
1:42 p.m.: Sergio Ramos tries a shot at the Dutch goal that’s nearly kicked in by its own defense. Ensuing possession is a shot from left side by David Villa that hits the outer left wall of the net. The crowd certainly thought it had a goal to cheer for.
1:39 p.m.: The Dutch shoot a harmless lob at Spanish goalie Iker Casillas, and the ensuing possession results in defender Sergio Ramos… dribbling it out of bounds? Surprising mistake by the Spanish side, which loves its ball control.
Both sides have looked tentative early. This is like the first two rounds of a heavyweight boxing match. You’ve gotta feel out your opponent a bit and jab here and there. The big swings will come.
1:36 p.m.: Momentary Internet problem. Spain has already lost two scoring opportunities to offside calls, one marginal, one blatant. The Dutch are hanging back and playing a swarming D.
1:30 p.m.: Kickoff! To quote a song, “everybody’s talkin’ at me, but I don’t hear a word they’re sayin’. It’s you and me, SGFers. Tunnel vision time.
1:25 p.m.: My only real criticism of the World Cup final that I can ever recall having is the trophy. For an item you work four years for, battling every country in your region and then the rest of the world, shouldn’t it be… bigger? In my head I want something of Stanley Cup proportions. At least it’s made of gold… okay, hollow gold, but if it was solid you couldn’t lift it. I’m rambling at this point. Let’s kick a ball already.
1:21 p.m.: This is a packed, electric room. It’s amazing to think how many people live in Springfield who are expats and people with heritage ties to these two nations. The anticipation is crushing. This seems like a good time to mention, in the interest of full disclosure, that I have strong familial ties to Spain and I’m a ball of nerves waiting to see how this game goes.
With that said, let’s talk about the Dutch for a moment. Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben are two of the best playmakers in soccer today, and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, captain for The Netherlands, is playing his final international game. The majority of analysts are picking the Spanish team, but don’t sleep on the Dutch. Not even a little. They leveled Brazil, after all, coming back in the second half a couple of rounds ago. No one does that to Brazil. Seriously.
1 p.m.: Farmers Gastropub is expecting about 100 people for today’s game, and it looks as though the estimate is coming good. I’ve never been asked for an extra chair so much in my life. Meanwhile, we have seen each team’s lineup ahead of the game and there are several interesting subplots developing.
First, Spain isn’t starting either striker Fernando Torres or Cesc Fabregas, leaving David Villa to hold things down as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 (defense-midfield-forward) formation. The Dutch are doing the same formation with Robin Van Persie up front. There are a surprising number of Dutch fans coming out in orange gear. Where have they been this whole tournament?
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After a month’s worth of World Cup soccer in South Africa only two teams are left standing, and neither of them rank among the usual suspects. For the first time in more than 30 years neither finalist in the tournament is a previous winner; somebody is taking home the gold-and-malachite trophy–okay, a replica of it, anyway–for the first time ever. Will it be the Dutch, with more playmakers than one can count? Will it be the Spaniards, masters of ball control and the total-team game? It all seems a little Colts (Dutch) v. Patriots (Spain) to me, only with a different kind of football, no possible shooting connections (plus) and no Gisele Bündchen (minus).
For the final game of the tournament we’re resurrecting the World Cup Live Blog, coming to you direct from Farmers Gastropub downtown during the SGFSoccer.com watch party, starting at 1 p.m. TAG’s own Chris DeRosier will be there to bring you the sights and insights, both from the game and the room, not to mention his occasional stupid ramblings. If you’re already going to be watching, consider us your local, funnier-than-Alexi Lalas (not hard to do) companion. If you can’t get to a TV, we’ll be right here to guide you along in the proceedings. Either way, history will be made. See you Sunday.
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